Numb
by Kandi
Summary: Bizarre happenings start occurring in the WWE that have many people thinking that there could be a serial killer in the midst...so much so that even friends start suspecting each other! This is a sucky summary, but please R&R! lol!
1. Default Chapter

Hey guys! It's been storming where I live on and off for the past couple of weeks, and that's gotten me in the mood to do a murder mystery type fanfic! That and also the fact that I've been watching Days of Our Lives & they kind of have a murder storyline thingy that's going on now too, so it's been inspiring me lol! I hope you guys will enjoy this fic ( Some characters will die in this fic, but I promise it won't be like a bloodbath or anything, it will just be storyline related. Also, in this fic the brand extension never existed so everyone is on the same shows. The only character I own is Meadow Lawson, I don't own any of the other wrestlers involved in this fic, the WWE does. So without further ado, here is the first chap!!! Please read and review!!!  
  
~ Chapter 1 ~  
  
"That was such an awesome match, Meadow," Trish Stratus exclaimed as she congratulated her best friend after her match. "You are really coming into your own," she remarked as they made their way into the women's locker room.  
  
"You think so?" Meadow bit her lip self-consciously. Meadow had only been with the WWE for five months, so she was still relatively new to the business. She always had the tendency to doubt her ability and performance; she was definitely her own worst critic. It always took her by surprise when people praised her matches.  
  
"Meadow, you wrestle like you've been doing this for years. You are so entertaining to watch, and the fans really get into your character," Trish continued to gush. "That's probably because of your awesome storyline with Matt Hardy and Shannon Moore. It's so cute how you're the only female MF'er. And I know for a fact that you thoroughly enjoy working with a certain Mr. Mattitude," Trish chuckled uncontrollably and winked at Meadow as she began to prepare for her own match in a few minutes.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Meadow's face turned an interesting shade of red as she tucked a stray piece of her chestnut brown hair behind her ear.  
  
"You are such the smitten kitten," Trish teased.  
  
"Am not!" Meadow chucked a towel in Trish's direction as she giggled profusely.  
  
"Why do you insist in wallowing in denial? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have the major hots for Matt."  
  
"Major hots?" Meadow raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Who talks like that? Did I just get transported back into the early '90s?"  
  
"Haha, but I'm being serious here. It is so obvious that you want him," Trish nodded her head knowingly.  
  
"Even if I did want him, and I'm not saying I do by any means, but I'm speaking hypothetically right now. Let's say I wanted to pursue something with Matt, I honestly don't think he's ready for a relationship right now because he just broke up with Amy not too long ago. Besides, I'm perfectly content with just being a MF'er," Meadow grinned.  
  
"Oh yes, because you're definitely the teacher's pet," Trish laughed.  
  
Meadow shook her head at her while she smiled, "You need to stop, you are so bad!" she warned.  
  
"Yes, my girlfriend is quite bad, isn't she?" Trish looked up to see her boyfriend, Jeff Hardy, grinning adorably at her in the doorway.  
  
"Jeffrey!" She squealed as she ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck.  
  
"I take it that you're happy to see me?" Jeff looked at her amused.  
  
"What ever gave you that idea?" Trish grinned as she kissed him gingerly on the lips.  
  
"Oh brother," Meadow rolled her eyes at their make out session. Trish and Jeff were always joined at the lips; it never failed.  
  
"Get a room!" Amy joked as she pushed Jeff and Trish out of the way and bounded into the locker room with Matt Hardy, Shannon Moore, and Shane Helms closely behind her.  
  
"Hola chica!" Meadow happily greeted Amy as she gave her a huge hug.  
  
"What? Am I not good enough for some hug action?" Shannon pouted.  
  
"Of course you are, my fellow MF'er. Come here," Meadow smiled as she pulled him into an embrace and playfully ruffed his hair.  
  
"Hey, watch it now. Lay off the hair," Shannon patted down his blonde hair and gave Meadow a look. She returned his glare as she lightly shoved him. Even though Meadow hadn't been signed on with the WWE for very long, she had already made some really awesome friends.  
  
Shannon was probably her closest male friend, she could talk to him about anything, and he was always willing to listen to her.  
  
Shane was Meadow's funniest friend. They had a very interesting relationship that consisted of a lot of teasing on both ends. Whenever Meadow was having a shitty day, she knew she could always count on Shane to put a smile back on her face.  
  
Meadow was pretty close to Jeff as well. They were both obsessed with music and whenever Jeff wrote a new song, he would test it out on Meadow first to hear what she thought about it. They would have jam sessions with each other, where Jeff would strum along on his guitar, and Meadow would sing the lyrics. They made a pretty good team. Jeff was quite protective of Meadow, he considered her to be like a little sister, even though they were the same age.  
  
She was also pretty tight with the girls. The first day Meadow met Trish.she couldn't explain it, they just clicked. Trish was her favorite shopping partner, and she and Meadow had the weirdest sense of humor. They would crack up at any and everything, and people would always give them strange looks because they didn't know what in the world was so funny! Trish and Meadow strongly believed that they were twins who were unfortunately separated at birth.  
  
Meadow and Amy were really good friends too. They both considered themselves to be "guys's girls" which meant that they could watch football and drink beer with the guys, but turn around the next moment and be sexy little vixens that drive every hot blooded American male wild!  
  
Then there was Matt.Meadow didn't know how or why, but had totally and completely fallen for him. She had a crush on him the second she laid eyes on him. She thought her ears were playing tricks on her when the general manager Stephanie McMahon informed her that she would be Matt's newest MF'er, and she would be sucking up to Matt to appear to be a better MF'er than Shannon. Meadow's character was supposedly secretly in love with Matt and constantly went out of her way to impress him whether it be inside the ring or out. She couldn't get over how true to life that storyline actually was. Meadow secretly wanted Matt, but Matt (like his Mattitude persona) was completely oblivious. She had been there for him when he and Amy had called it quits, and they had kind of formed a tight bond after that. They would flirt with each other on occasion, but that's as far as it went. Meadow wanted more, but had to accept that it just wasn't written in the cards.  
  
"You are such a good little Mattitude Follower, using all of those little underhanded tactics I taught you to beat up Torrie Wilson. Good for you," Matt grinned and winked at Meadow.  
  
"That's called cheating, Matt," Amy rolled her eyes.  
  
"No, it's called she's using the fundamentals of Mattitude to help her win her matches, and she's doing a damn good job of it," Matt beamed.  
  
"Um.uh.thanks," Meadow sheepishly smiled back.  
  
"Well kiddies, I hate to break up this little gab fest, but I have a match in like 30 seconds," Trish began pushing her way through the crowd of people in the locker room.  
  
"What? No good luck kiss?" Jeff asked offended.  
  
"Make it quick," Trish motioned him over to her, and he kissed her softly.  
  
"Good luck babe," he whispered. Trish affectionately pinched his cheeks and quickly raced out of the room.  
  
"I guess that's our cue to hightail it out of her too," Shane nudged Meadow's shoulder. "I'll see you lata, Dollface." Dollface was Shane's nickname for Meadow because he thought her face was so angelic and innocent like a little doll.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we'll go too," Shannon pretended to huff as he bid Meadow farewell and followed after Shane. Matt and Jeff were the next ones to leave, and then it was just Meadow and Amy in the room.  
  
"It's all starting to happen," Amy suddenly remarked.  
  
A peculiar look swept across Meadow's face as she turned around, "What do you mean it's all starting to happen?"  
  
"I'm talking about you silly!" Amy exclaimed.  
  
"You have lost me, Dumas," Meadow chuckled as she took a seat next to her friend.  
  
"You are poised to take this women's division by storm, you do realize that don't you?"  
  
"How do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, you've only been in the company a few short months, but already you have a kickass storyline, legions of guys virtually in love with you, and so many young girls who want to be you. That kind of stuff doesn't usually happen this fast, not even with me. You are going to have that belt soon, I just know it. Besides, Vince and Steph adore you."  
  
"Aww, cut it out, Aims," Meadow shooed her. "I appreciate what you're saying, but in all honesty, I'm just a lowly women's wrestler. I'm no where remotely close to being in your league. I win all of my matches by cheating for crying out loud!" She and Amy chuckled a little bit, until they heard a knock at the door. "It's open!" Meadow called.  
  
"Hey, guys," Torrie Wilson smiled as she sauntered into the room.  
  
"Hi, Tor. You don't look too good, are you feeling okay?" Meadow asked concerned.  
  
"She's probably still recovering from that brutal beating you gave her," Amy whispered under her breath.  
  
"I don't know what my problem is, but I've had this splitting headache practically all day long," Torrie gently massaged her temples.  
  
"That's not cool, do you need some medicine?" Meadow inquired.  
  
"Yeah, that's why I stopped here actually," Torrie confessed.  
  
"You mean you didn't come here to have a heart to heart with us? Torrie, I'm deeply saddened," Amy teased.  
  
"No, it's just that I know Meadow has awesome medicine that gets rid of headaches just like that," Torrie snapped her fingers to demonstrate her point.  
  
"I sure do," Meadow sprang up from her seat at the bench and found her purse. She ransacked through it, until she came up with the item she had intended to find. She shook the bottle happily and handed it to Torrie. "This stuff is the shit! My brother-in-law was a pharmacist, and he swore on everything that these pills were magic or something," Meadow laughed. "Take two of these and you should be all set."  
  
"Thank you so much, Meadow, you are a life saver!" Torrie excitedly beamed. "This works out perfectly because tomorrow I have that photo shoot to do for the cover of the Divas Swimsuit magazine, and in a few minutes I have another photo shoot to do for my new website, since I won the Babe of the Year competition."  
  
"Congrats on that by the way," Amy added in. "You just narrowly beat Meadow here in one of the closest races ever for that contest."  
  
"Thanks, it was definitely a nail biter there at the end, I just barely escaped," Torrie grinned. "I'm so happy I have this medicine, because now I'll be able to be at my best, and I won't look like a sick loser in my pictures."  
  
"No, no, we wouldn't want that," Meadow giggled.  
  
"No, we would not," Torrie agreed as she waved goodbye to them and vaccated the room.  
  
"She freakin took the whole bottle," Meadow smiled and rejoined Amy on the bench.  
  
"Well, Torrie is definitely a strange one," Amy swirled her fingers in a circle motion to the side of her head, demonstrating that she thought Torrie was crazy.  
  
"Hey, she's a sweet girl," Meadow defended her.  
  
"Sweet.but definitely flaky."  
  
"I'll give that you one," Meadow laughed. Amy glanced down at her watch.  
  
"I should leave soon, I have to get ready for my match against Victoria. Damn, I can't wait until she finally drops that belt; it's been two months already!"  
  
"You and me both," Meadow nodded her head in agreement. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one who she drops it to."  
  
"Keep your fingers crossed," Amy squealed and exited the room.  
  
Meadow sighed and quickly paced around the room, something white in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She moved closer to the object, which was nestled in the side of the mirror.  
  
"What the hell?" She murmured as she grabbed the small piece of paper. She opened it carefully, having a feeling that this note wasn't just an everyday, ordinary note. She noticed that it was completely composed of cut out letters from newspapers and magazines clippings.they all spelled out an interesting message. "NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS" Meadow read. "Um.okayy, that's a little creepy," She then re-read the message. "What in the blue hell does this mean and why is it in my locker room?" When she finally grew tired of pondering the bizarre note, she tossed it into her bag. But she couldn't shake the cold chill she felt running down her spine. She shivered and rubbed her arms rhythmically up and down as she escaped the room. 


	2. Strange Occurrences

Characters: Meadow Lawson, Trish Stratus, Hardyz, Shannon Moore, Amy Dumas, and Shane Helms  
  
~ Chapter 2 ~  
  
Meadow woke up groggily the next morning. She pulled herself out of her comfy bed and stared at the clock for several seconds.  
  
"Oh shit, I overslept," She moaned annoyed. A part of her was a little ticked off that Trish didn't bother waking her because now she was going to have to call a taxi to take her to the arena. But the rational part of Meadow informed her that Trish probably did try to wake her up, but Meadow was notorious for being a deep sleeper.  
  
Meadow forced herself to stare at her own reflection in the mirror, and she literally screamed out in horror at her appearance.  
  
"How do you expect to get a guy if you keep looking like this? No wonder you've been single for so long," Meadow told her reflection as she quickly dished out her make up. "You really shouldn't be too shocked that Matt considers you to be just one of the guys, you practically look like one now."  
  
She quickly began applying all of the essentials to her face to make her look somewhat human again. Once Meadow felt comfortable with her appearance, she started work on her hair. Meadow had long, silky brown hair that made almost every girl green with envy. Meadow, however, found it to be very annoying because it would never cooperate with her. She finally settled on throwing it up on top of her head and letting a few strands fall around her face. She then got dressed in a pair of wide-legged khakis and white halter top with a pink fishnet shirt over it. Finally, Meadow felt like herself and ready to face the wrestling world.  
  
She had already made the call to her taxi, so she was basically just waiting for it to arrive. She stepped outside, so she could have a better view of the taxi when it approached. Meadow observed how dismal the sky looked, and she immediately shivered. She had a strange vibe that something freaky was going on. . . but she couldn't quite grasp what it was. Maybe it was going to storm?. . . Yeah, that had to be it. Suddenly, Meadow caught sight of her taxi and instantly raced toward it.  
  
Meadow was still unable to shake her bizarre feeling as the taxi dropped her off at the arena. As she stepped out of the vehicle, she noticed a dark, luminous cloud hovering above the building.  
  
"That's so strange," She whispered. "This must be a sign that it's really going to pour today." Meadow cautiously entered the building, only to notice that the chill she had felt outside was present even more so inside the building. She brushed past crew workers who normally would beam at her and have a brief chit chat with her before she went on her merry way, but today they avoided all eye contact. It was definitely strange to say the least. Meadow desperately wanted to see a friendly face; she decided to pay a quick visit to Shannon Moore. She knocked lightly on his door, but soon discovered that it was already part way open. She gently pushed the rest of the door ajar as she sauntered into the room.  
  
"Shannon?" She called out cheerfully, she peered around the corner only to find that all of her friends, including Shannon, were all sitting in the locker room. They all appeared to not be themselves, like they had totally zoned out and were lost in thought. Meadow was used to seeing this kind of behavior from Jeff, but from everyone else? It was just plain weird.  
  
"Hey guys! What's up?" Meadow happily greeted as she tried to squeeze some smiles out of the somber group. "It's totally going to storm outside today, I saw the funkiest looking cloud before I came in here too. I just love thunderstorms, wouldn't it be awesome to have a wrestling match in one?" She joked. No one laughed. No one had even acknowledged her presence.  
  
"Guys?" Meadow's smile disappeared. "What's wrong? Why are you guys so glum and why are you practically ignoring me? It's very rude to not answer someone when they're asking you questions." Meadow paused hoping that her series of questions would prompt one of her friends to utter a sound or something that would give her an indication that they were all still alive. "Why do you guys look like someone died?" Meadow asked exasperated.  
  
Finally, Trish Stratus lifted her head, and Meadow noticed her blood shot eyes. "Didn't you hear?" She mustered out hoarsely.  
  
"Hear what?" Meadow looked at her confused.  
  
"It's all over the news," Shane mumbled. "I'm surprised you haven't heard."  
  
"HEAR WHAT?!" Meadow exclaimed frustrated. "I demand someone to fill me in here because you all are really starting to scare me."  
  
"Meadow. . .Torrie Wilson died last night," Amy managed to squeak out right before she broke down and a burst of new tears streamed down her cheeks. Matt wrapped his arm around comfortingly around her shoulders as she buried her face into his chest.  
  
"Wh-what?" Meadow was totally and completely shocked. She hadn't heard Amy right, had she? "When? Where? What happened?" Meadow inquired, still in a daze as she took a seat next to Shannon.  
  
"We haven't heard all the specifics, but from what I gather, it happened last night in her hotel room," Matt answered. "Apparently, she overdosed on some pills."  
  
"Ohmigod," Meadow replied. "I can't believe this, this is so surreal. I mean, I wasn't especially close to Torrie, but I liked her well enough. Oh, poor Stacy, she must be going crazy right now. This is just so unbelievable, I was just talking to Torrie yesterday, and she was telling me about how happy she was that she won the Babe of the Year contest, and that she was picked for the cover of the Divas Swimsuit magazine. Her career in the WWE was just taking off. . . this is so sad." Meadow instantly started crying as she relived their last conversation in her head.  
  
Shane stared at her concerned and opened up his arms for her to give him a hug. She did so, and they stayed like that for awhile, until Meadow pulled herself out of his embrace when another question popped into her head. "Do they. . . you know. . . do they think she tried to commit suicide?"  
  
"I'm not really sure, but I do know that so far they haven't found a suicide note," Shannon replied.  
  
"But they did find an empty bottle of pills lying next to her when they discovered her body this morning," Trish whispered.  
  
"Torrie had her whole future ahead of her, why would she want to take her own life?" Meadow mumbled quietly. "Ohmigod!" She suddenly exclaimed loudly.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Matt asked her startled.  
  
"Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod!!!" Meadow began panicking.  
  
"What has you so freaked out, Meadow?" Amy asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah, calm down and just tell us what's gotten you so bent out of shape," Shane gently massaged her back.  
  
"Yesterday. . . in the locker room. . ." Meadow was having trouble getting her sentence out because she was so choked up. ". . . Torrie had a really bad headache. . . I gave her some pills that were guaranteed to make her headache go away! She must have overdosed on those pills, and it's all my fault!" Meadow wailed as Shane wrapped her up in another soothing hug as he affectionately stroked her hair.  
  
"Dollface, this is not your fault, you hear me? Don't blame yourself. You are not responsible for what happened to Torrie," Shane gently informed.  
  
"Shane is right, M. None of us really knew what was going through her head. On the surface, it appeared like Torrie was on top of the world, but looks can be deceiving," Trish commented as she walked over to her friend and patted her back. "For all we know, Torrie could have been severely messed up in the head, and she might have felt like suicide was the only solution."  
  
"I still find it odd that they didn't discover a suicide note," Matt scratched his head.  
  
"Maybe it was an accident?" Jeff suggested.  
  
"Could have been. . . but either way you look at it, Torrie is still dead," Shannon stated bluntly.  
  
"Shan!" Amy exclaimed.  
  
"Sorry, I was just stating a fact," Shannon softly apologized.  
  
"So, is the show cancelled tonight then?" Meadow wondered.  
  
"Not to my knowledge. You know Vince, he won't even let a tragedy like this keep him away from making money," Matt replied in disgust.  
  
"He makes me so sick sometimes," Amy grumbled.  
  
"Tell me about it," Trish scoffed.  
  
"Well, since apparently it's going to be business as usual here in the WWE, I'm going to find out who I'm scheduled to wrestle tonight. And I might see if I can find Stacy. . . just to see how she's holding up," Meadow wiped her eyes with the tissue Trish had supplied her with.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea. So are you finally through with blaming yourself for what happened to Torrie?" Matt observed Meadow curiously as he looked intently into her eyes.  
  
"I don't know. . . I mean I can't help feeling somewhat responsible. What if I hadn't given her those pills? She might still be alive right now," Meadow murmured.  
  
"You don't know that for sure hun, you can't live by what if's," Amy piped up.  
  
"Aims is right. If Torrie was hell bent on ending her life that way then she would have found some pills regardless if they came from you or from someone else. Don't beat yourself up over this okay?" Matt pulled Meadow into a gentle hug. When they parted, she sheepishly shot Matt a small smile.  
  
"Okay guys, thanks for the encouraging words," Meadow reached out and squeezed Shannon and Shane's hands. "All right everyone, I'll see you in a few."  
  
"Okay, M. And if you find out anything else, please fill us in," Shannon suggested. With a quick nod of the head, Meadow turned around and disappeared from site. As she was walking down the hallway, she ran into a beaming Stephanie McMahon.  
  
"Just the girl I wanted to see," Stephanie smiled happily.  
  
"Come again?" Meadow inquired. Surely Steph was aware of the terrible situation surrounding Torrie Wilson, so why in the blue hell was she smiling as if nothing was in the least bit wrong?  
  
"I have some very good news for you, Meadow. In light of a few instances that have happened recently, you have been rewarded a cover shoot for tomorrow."  
  
"Really?" A smile escaped from Meadow's lips. "The cover of what? Raw magazine? WWE magazine?"  
  
"Nope, better. . . the Divas Swimsuit magazine!" Stephanie cheered.  
  
"The swimsuit magazine?! Wasn't Torrie supposed to be on the cover of that?"  
  
"Well, I'm sure you've heard about what happened to her, and although it's very sad and tragic, the WWE can't have that kind of publicity right now. Torrie's death is still under investigation, and as it stands right now, more than likely Torrie committed suicide. If we display Torrie on the cover of one of our most premiere issues, it's showing that the WWE condones that sort of behavior, which is far from true. That's why you got the cover, so be grateful. I guess you know what this also means," Steph said in a sing-song voice.  
  
"What what means?"  
  
"Since the Babe of the Year competition came down between you and Torrie, you are now our new Babe of the Year! Congrats girlie!"  
  
"Oh. . . um. . . thanks," Meadow had a nagging feeling that she shouldn't accept these "rewards". She just didn't feel right about it. Torrie hadn't even been dead for a whole day yet, and already Stephanie wasn't wasting any time replacing her.  
  
"I have some business to attend to, but congratulations on your good news," Stephanie winked and in a flash she was gone. Meadow was in a state of disbelief.  
  
"Oh. My. God. Why do I have a really, really bad feeling about this?" Meadow murmured to herself. 


	3. Sympathy

Characters: Meadow Lawson, Trish Stratus, Hardyz, Shannon Moore, Amy Dumas, and Shane Helms  
  
Disclaimer: The only character I own is Meadow, the rest are property of the WWE.  
  
Meadow cautiously tapped on Stacy Keibler's door. When she heard no response, she gently turned the door handle and walked in. "Stace, you in here?" Meadow's eyes immediately landed on a shivering figure in the corner, who was crawled up in a ball rocking themselves rhythmically back and forth.  
  
Meadow noticed a bunch of tissues scattered all around the room and instantly her heart went out to Stacy. "Stacy? It's Meadow," She said calmly as she carefully approached her.  
  
"I know who the hell you are," Stacy snapped back bitterly. Meadow wasn't expecting that response, but chalked it up to Stacy being upset about her best friend's death.  
  
"I know you're going through a tough time right now. . ."  
  
"Why are you here?" Stacy shot her head up and stared coldly into Meadow's eyes for the first time. "It's not like you and I were ever friends, so quit trying to act like you give a damn."  
  
"Look, I know we haven't been especially close, but you're wrong. . . I do care. I know what you're going through."  
  
"Oh you do, do you?" Stacy asked skeptically. "Honestly, tell me something, Meadow. Do you know what it's like to lose your best friend in the entire world?" Meadow looked down and shook her head no. "Have you ever lost someone who truly understood you, who you could talk about any and everything with? Someone who knew your deepest, darkest secrets and every other miniscule detail about your life?"  
  
"No," Meadow softly admitted.  
  
"That's what I thought. So you have absolutely no freaking clue about what I'm going through right now! I would appreciate it if you would stop pretending as if you do because you don't!" Stacy immediately started wailing after her outburst.  
  
Meadow just stood there. Stacy was right. . . she had never lost a loved one before, so technically she couldn't put herself in Stacy's shoes. Meadow had no clue what to say or do, because everything she tried was wrong. Why did she even care about helping Stacy?  
  
"Did you know we were supposed to go to the mall today after work?" Stacy whispered softly. "I talked to her on the phone last night, and she seemed perfectly fine. I don't understand. . . I was her best friend, why didn't she tell me that something was wrong with her? Why did she keep it from me? I could have helped her. . . I could have done something!" Stacy bursted into tears and began sobbing uncontrollably.  
  
"Stacy, don't be so hard on yourself. None of us are sure why Torrie wanted to end her life," Meadow squatted down and wrapped her arms around Stacy.  
  
"Get off me!" Stacy pulled her hands away. "You didn't even like Torrie! Hell, I bet you're happy she's gone! Get out of my room now! I'm tired of your fake sympathy and compassion!"  
  
"Stacy, I was only trying to help. . ."  
  
"Why don't you help your way out of my room! Are you hard of hearing?! Get out!" Stacy sobbed as she pointed towards the door. Meadow instantly stood up and wasted no time leaving Stacy's presence. Stacy was definitely in bad shape; Meadow had never seen her like that before. Meadow's thoughts were still wrapped up in her conversation with Stacy, when she bumped into Matt in the hallway.  
  
"Oh. . . I'm sorry," she apologized absently as she continued walking.  
  
"Meadow, wait!" Matt called as he ran and caught up to her. "What's wrong? You look like you're a million miles away."  
  
"I may as well should be," Meadow answered. "I just got back from seeing Stacy and all I can say is. . . she really scared me. She's taking Torrie's death harder than I thought."  
  
"Well, they were pretty inseparable. I really feel bad about what happened though; this all feels like a dream. I keep expecting to see Torrie smiling and walking down the hall with a lollipop in her mouth and having not a care in the world."  
  
"Yeah. . . I know what you mean," Meadow looked at him sadly. "I can't say that I know first hand what Stacy is going through, but I can just imagine how I would feel if something happened to Trish, Shannon. . . you," She stared deep into Matt's beautiful brown eyes and her heart felt empty at just the mere thought of never getting the chance to see his handsome face again. "I haven't even known you guys that long, but already I have this strong attachment to all of you, and I don't want that to change."  
  
"Don't worry, I don't think any of us plan on leaving anytime soon. It's unfortunate what happened to Torrie, but it's times like these when you realize all the people you take for granted," Matt whispered as he brushed a stray piece of hair from Meadow's face.  
  
"Yeah, you're right," she muttered and closed her eyes as she tried to savor the moment of feeling Matt's touch. If he only knew what his soft caress was doing to her. . .  
  
Finally coming back to reality, Meadow fluttered her eyes open and laughed nervously. If Matt wasn't aware of her crush on him before, there was sure to be no speculation now. Wanting to desperately end the awkward moment, Meadow piped up, "Before I talked to Stacy, I had this bizarre conversation with Stephanie."  
  
"What about?" Matt seemed intrigued.  
  
"It was odd. Steph offered me the cover of the Divas swimsuit magazine, and she informed me that I'm the new Babe of the Year," Meadow replied.  
  
"SHE WHAT?!" Stacy demanded angrily as she slammed her door shut behind her; apparently she had been eavesdropping. She briskly walked over to Meadow and Matt with her hands on her hips. "And I bet you gleefully took Steph up on her offer, didn't you?" Stacy stared down Meadow.  
  
"What was I supposed to say?" Meadow asked defensively. "Stephanie is my boss, how would that have looked if I had said no?"  
  
"It's the freaking principle of the matter!" Stacy shouted back. "That cover and the Babe of the Year title belonged to Torrie, and she worked her ass off to get them. See, I KNEW that you would be happy that Torrie is gone. Now you're poised to receive all of her glory because you're supposedly a "rising star". Give me a break! Torrie and every single other diva can walk circles around you. You will never be able to replace Torrie, you got me? Hey, I bet Steph didn't even offer you those things, I bet you BEGGED for them, didn't you? You stupid little bitch. . ."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Stacy, that's enough," Matt cut in. "Meadow had nothing to do with what Steph offered her, and she is every bit as sorry about Torrie's sudden death as you are."  
  
Stacy's demeanor immediately softened as she gazed at Matt. "It's just that this is so hard for me, Torrie was the greatest friend I have ever had. We were more like sisters actually. I just don't know what I'm going to do without her," Stacy's flood gates opened once again as she flung herself into Matt's arms and cried on his shoulder. Meadow couldn't tell if Stacy's crying attack was truly genuine or just a way to be closer to Matt. . . She was strongly leaning towards the latter.  
  
"Stace, it will get easier," Matt soothed as he gently rubbed her back.  
  
Stacy lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him with her teary blue eyes. "Can you give me a lift back to the hotel? I don't think I can be here right now. Everywhere I turn, I'm reminded of Torrie and it's just too overwhelming. I would drive myself back, but I don't really want to be alone right now," Stacy pouted and Meadow inwardly groaned. It was totally obvious now that Stacy was manipulating the situation to spend some quality time with Matt; how sad and pathetic.  
  
"Well, I'm not sure when my match is. . ."  
  
"You have plenty of time before our match, we're on a little bit later in the show tonight," Meadow piped up. "So, if you want to drive Stacy, you should," Meadow wanted to kick herself after she uttered that ridiculous sentence. Open mouth, insert foot.  
  
"Well okay then, it's settled," Stacy wiped her eyes with a tissue and shot Matt a tiny smile.  
  
"I'll be right back and tell the gang where I am so they won't worry," Matt told Meadow.  
  
"Will do," she repeated sheepishly. He shot her the V1 symbol as Stacy ever so subtly slipped between his arms as they headed out of the arena. Meadow for the life of her couldn't understand Stacy. Meadow had tried to offer her condolences to her and practically gets bitched at, but Stacy more than welcomes sympathy from Matt. One thing Meadow did know though was that she definitely needed to be on guard when it came to Ms. Stacy Keibler. 


End file.
